Sanjay Kumar Singh on Thursday won the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) election after defeating 2010 Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Anita Sheoran.
Sanjay, who is a close aide of former WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, will now take over the vacant post while Prem Chand Lochab was elected the Secretary General.
Sanjay, who is the UP wrestling federation vice-president, defeated Sheoran by 40 votes to 7.
Sanjay was part of WFI's last executive council. He was also the national federation's joint secretary since 2019.
"...National Camps (for wrestling) will be organised. Wrestlers who want to do politics can do politics, those want to do wrestling will do wrestling...," Sanjay said after his victory
Besides the post of the president, elections are also being held for senior vice-president (1), vice-presidents (4), secretary-general (1), treasurer (1), joint secretaries (2), executive members (5).
Sanjay said his entire panel will win the elections.
"I am confident that we will win. We have the votes of 41 state units with us. Our entire panel will emerge victorious," he said.
Sheoran, on the other hand, was backed by the country's top wrestlers, who had accused Brij Bhushan of sexually exploiting women grapplers during his tenure.
Wrestlers vs Brij Bhushan
The elite wrestlers, including Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik and World Championships medallist Vinesh Phogat, had spearheaded the agitation at Jantar Mantar against Brij Bhushan.
They had demanded that none of Brij Bhushan's family members or associates should be allowed to contest the elections.
Consequently, neither Brij Bhushan's son Prateek nor son-in-law Vishal Singh entered the fray.
"As suggested I should not involve my family in the election. That's why I did not nominate anyone from my family in the election," Brij Bhushan said.
UWW ban on WFI set to end
The impending election of a new executive council signals a potential resolution to the UWW ban on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The global governing body for the sport had imposed sanctions on WFI for its failure to conduct timely elections, compelling Indian wrestlers to participate as neutral athletes in the 2023 World Championships.
Although the election process was initiated in July, it faced delays due to legal proceedings. Recently, the Supreme Court lifted the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, clearing the path for the selection of the new WFI governing body. This development offers hope for the restoration of WFI's standing with UWW, ultimately allowing Indian wrestlers to compete internationally without the burden of neutrality.
